The Rewards of Reading
by XxXxDarkVampirexXxX
Summary: When Naru leaves his office, he's greeted by one of the strangest sights in the world: MAI is READING a BOOK. Socking, right? Naru certainly seems to think so. Just what will he do to express his pleasure at Mai attempting to expand her mind with a book?


**Yo. I don't know how many of the people reading this have been reading my other ongoing fics, and it's more than likely that you're waiting for the next chapters to those. Aside from my writer's block, I've been dealing with a lot of RL crap, and things are just really hard for me right now, hence the reason behind why I haven't updated in so bloody long. I haven't given up and nor do I plan to do so. Just continue to be patient with me, and I'll update as fast as I can.**

**Thanks guys, and yes, this one shot is my way of apologizing. I hope you like it, even though it's not very long…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters...**

Sighing deeply, seventeen year old Mai Taniyama sank down onto a couch. She was at work at SPR's main office, and was very bored. Despite the fact that she had a very...interesting work life, there were days like today where nothing happened. Sometimes they had no cases to worry over, and no one called for a request. In fact, the only thing she had to do on these days was file and make tea.

Trying not to fall asleep, Mai glanced around the room. Naru would kill her if he caught her napping on the job, so she had to find something to keep her busy. Suddenly, she spotted a book sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Not bothering to even wonder how she hadn't seen it there before, she picked it up to scan the back cover. It sounded interesting enough, and figuring it was better than nothing, she cracked the book open and began to read…

An hour later Mai was curled up on the couch, completely lost in the story she was reading. It was a fantastic book and she wished she'd discovered it before. She couldn't wait to find out what the ending was, and if there were any sequels. She didn't even consider how odd Naru or Lin would find the current situation to be, or how rude it was to a client if they happened to come in at the time...

Two hours after she'd begun reading the book, Lin wandered out of his office wanting a glass of water and something to snack on. He paused when he caught sight of Mai on the couch, lost in what she was reading. It was a good book, he knew. He'd been the one to leave it there after all. The girl wasn't fond of reading books, that too, he knew, but he was glad she was enjoying this particular piece. Smiling slightly, he headed off into the kitchenette, deciding to leave Mai as she was. It wouldn't be very polite to disturb her after all…

It had now been three hours since Mai had started reading the book, and she still hadn't gotten off that couch. She had moved around a bit, sure, but she hadn't taken her eyes off the pages before her while she did so. She had no idea how long she'd been reading for, or even what time it was. All she knew was that the main character was awesome and his best friend was a crazy evil bastard who deserved to die, and that she was going to bawl her eyes out if the protagonist died instead, as the book was currently hinting at...

"Mai, tea!" Naru waited, once more, for a call in response and got nothing. Again. He'd been calling for tea for the past two and a half hours, and Mai still hadn't brought him any. Annoyed beyond belief, he finally got to his feet. Leaving the comfort of his nice, dark office, Naru stepped into the brightly lit lounge...and stopped in his tracks.

Naru couldn't believe his eyes, and for a moment, he thought he was hallucinating. He closed his eyes, pondering what he had just seen. Had _Mai _just been _reading_ a _book_? The very thought was insane. Completely and utterly insane. He had _never_ seen Mai with a book before.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Mai was still there on the couch, and she was still reading. She seemed to be very absorbed in the book. An involuntary smile crept onto Naru's face as a devious plan formed in his mind. Approaching the couch, he leaned down and snatched the book out of the girl's small hands.

Mai's head immediately snapped up, brown eyes blazing. "What the hell, Naru!?"

Naru said nothing, just sat down next to the girl while he examined the book. This was Lin's, he realized. Had his guardian left it out here on purpose? He knew the man had enjoyed it very much.

"Naru! Give it back! I wanna know how it ends!" She'd been at the end of the book, and her favourite character was in the middle of the most bizarre conflict. "Naru!" Mai attempted to grab the book back, but Naru held it away from her reach, a smirk on his face as she huffed indignantly.

As Mai leaned in close to him, clearly still trying to take the book away, he once again pulled it back and instead, gently pressed his lips to hers. The girl froze, and then kissed him back quickly, hands coming to rest on his chest. Naru grinned inwardly, and dropped the book onto the coffee table before he wrapped his arms around the girl, tangling his fingers into her soft brown hair.

So lost in their kiss, neither of them noticed Lin coming into the lounge, Lin freezing, Lin grinning. Neither of them noticed the flash of a camera, and they didn't notice Lin retreating into his office to send the picture off to Madoka who was likely going to freak out. In a good way, of course.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two teens pulled away, both breathless. Naru pressed his forehead to Mai's as they attempted to catch their breath. Once she was sure she could speak properly, Mai looked at Naru, an embarrassed pink flush on her cheeks.

"Naru...what was that for?" she questioned curiously.

Naru smirked. "Just a little reward."

The girl blinked, evidently confused. "Reward?"

Now Naru leaned into her again, and quickly pecked her lips before getting to his feet. He began to stroll off to his office, but half way, he stopped. "For reading."

Mai stared. "What!? Naru!"

Leaving Mai as she was, Naru headed into his office and closed the door behind him. He waited a moment and when he heard nothing, called out, "Mai, tea!" Another pause and, yeah, she was angry now. He could hear the girl yelling and cursing at him, which really only amused him. Mai really was just so cute.

"Naru! I can't believe you, you bastard! This isn't fair! What the hell!"

Annoyed, Mai made her way into the kitchenette where she began to make tea. She couldn't believe what that jerk had done. How could he just kiss her and then walk away like that? And he'd only kissed her to reward her for reading? What the heck was that supposed to mean?

But the anger quickly faded away, leaving Mai to remember the kiss that she could still feel lingering on her lips. A smile crept onto her face. If this kiss had been his way to reward her for reading, would he do it every time he saw her with a book? The smile became mischievous. Perhaps she would do what her boss always did and _test_ her new _theory_. The only difference was, it wasn't the spirits she wanted to test it on. _I need to find some more books!_

**And that's it. This entire thing was just a random thought that popped into my head, so I hope it was alright. Thank you for your patience with my other stuff guys, and I'm really looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


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